Apple's AirPods are sold out for Christmas in the US

Apple.com says that AirPod orders placed on Monday won’t be delivered until January.

Other online retailers are also indicating they are in short supply.

Some sellers on Ebay are offering the $US159 earphones for prices of $US200 or more.

If you were hoping to pick up a pair of Apple AirPods for a last-minute Christmas gift, it might be time to start making alternate plans.

Apple’s $US159 wireless earbuds seem to be in short supply everywhere.

Currently, Apple’s website says that if you order a pair of AirPods on Monday, the earliest you can get them is on January 5 – weeks after the traditional holiday gift-giving season.

Other retailers don’t have much stock either – Best Buy, Verizon, and Sprint all list 2018 shipping dates for the wireless earphones, according to 9to5Mac.

There’s one national retailer that seems to still have some stock, but even at AT&T stock is limited. There were no AirPods available for same-day pickup in New York City at AT&T, and only one unit in the Washington DC area.

You can always try your luck at physical electronics retailers, but you should probably call ahead of time – these buds don’t seem to be anywhere in large numbers.

In fact, AirPods have been hard to come by since they first went on sale last December. “We have increased production capacity for AirPods and are working very hard to get them to customers as quickly as we can, but we are still not able to meet the strong level of demand,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in August.

One site that does have AirPods and could ship them in time to make it under the Christmas tree is on Ebay, where resellers have units in hand ready to ship overnight. But it will cost you: Some listings were selling on Monday morning for as much as $US229, a 44% increase over what you’ll pay in January.